DUELMASTERS NEWSLETTER
Date : 06/14/2003 Duedate: 06/27/2003
NOBLISH ISLAND ARENA
DM-93 TURN-144
This Weeks Top Honors
THE DUELMASTER IS
WEDNESDAY
THE DARK TIDES (1234)
(93-7156) [6-2-2,72]
Chartered Recognition Leader Unchartered Recognition Leader
POSITION IS EMPTY WEDNESDAY
THE DARK TIDES (1234)
(93-7156) [6-2-2,72]
Popularity Leader This Weeks Favorite
GAMBIT FURIOUS IMP
X-MEN (1236) THE DARK TIDES (1234)
(93-7166) [4-2-0,28] (93-7536) [3-0-0,34]
THE CURRENT TOP TEAM
THE DARK TIDES (1234)
TEAMS ON THE MOVE TOP CAREER HONORS
Team Name Point Gain Chartered Team
1. X-MEN (1236) 29
2. NO HOPE (1303) 24 THE RUSH (537)
3. THE DARK TIDES (1234) 18 Unchartered Team
4. DRUNKEN CLONES (1144) 6
5. TYCRON'S MERCS (1298) 6 X-MEN (1236)
The Top Teams
Career Win-Loss Record W L K % Win-Loss Record Last 3 Turns W L K
1/ 2*X-MEN (1236) 19 11 1 63.3 1/ 1*THE DARK TIDES (1234) 11 4 1
2/ 1*TYCRON'S MERCS (1298) 11 8 0 57.9 2/ 3*X-MEN (1236) 10 5 0
3/ 3*MIDDLE WAY 8 (1300) 16 14 0 53.3 3/ 5*TYCRON'S MERCS (1298) 7 7 0
4/ 4*THE DARK TIDES (1234) 21 19 3 52.5 4/ 4*DRUNKEN CLONES (1144) 6 6 1
5/ 6*DRUNKEN CLONES (1144) 13 17 2 43.3 5/ 2*MIDDLE WAY 8 (1300) 6 9 0
6/ 7*RIFF RAFF (1305) 4 6 1 40.0 6/ 6*RIFF RAFF (1305) 4 6 1
7/ 5*THE BLACK GUARD (1299) 2 3 1 40.0 7/ 7*NO HOPE (1303) 3 12 0
8/ 8*NO HOPE (1303) 3 12 0 20.0 8/ 8*THE BLACK GUARD (1299) 2 3 1
'*' Unchartered team '-' Team did not fight this turn
(###) Avoid teams by their Team Id ##/## This turn's/Last turn's rank
TEAM SPOTLIGHT
+ ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ The Lighthouse ]H[ + ---:--- + ]H[ +
"Tinkering strategies?" Jorja glanced around the common room of the Lighthouse
quickly. None of her gladiators were near by, but she leaned forward and lowered her
voice anyway. "The team here doesn't believe I ever do that, and I don't want them
to hear me saying differently, Diaretic. They'd get expectations, and I don't have
any plan to make life that easy for 'em. But here's the way I go at it when I'm
feeling generous with my warriors. Mind you, this is just the way *I* do it, and
there are plenty of other approaches.
"Say I've got a warrior who's a pure offensive style, which means a basher, a
lunger, or a slasher. I don't count strikers, as they're versatile and sometimes
unpredictable. Say I've started him out fast, maybe 8-6-x. Unless he's fighting
another pure offensive, he should be first off the mark. So I look for the problem.
If it's a problem with his numbers and style and he should have been some other kind
of fighter, well, too bad, we're both stuck with it. I can boost his offensive
effort to ten--sometimes it already IS ten, of course, but if it isn't, then that
goes up to the top. I can drop his activity level, say to four. I know some people
start their offensive warriors going 10-10-x, but to my mind, this is just asking for
early burnout in a fight. I've seen that kind of thing--a warrior comes out of the
starting gate like his socks are on fire, and by the MIDDLE, not the end, of the
first minute, he's panting and staggering, and losing. Sure, some warriors can take
that kind of energy burn, but most can't.
"So I tinker with his numbers, and it doesn't help, he still gets jumped when he
shouldn't. The next thing to try is dropping the weight he's carrying. Maybe I've
got him in some kind of mail, okay, I drop that to leather. This reduces his
protection against blows from his opponent, of course, but everything's a trade-off.
If he gets out there first and deals a shrewd blow or two, it won't matter; he'll win
before he gets hurt. If he's already in leather, or if I want to lighten him up
further, I'll drop his backup weapon and give him a lighter one. Say he's got a
scimitar with a backup same, maybe I'll drop the backup to a shortsword or even a
dagger. I'll always leave him SOME backup weapon--"
"He'd have his fists, if you didn't give him a backup weapon, wouldn't he?"
Diaretic asked.
Jorja shrugged. "Well... yes, but none of the pure offensives do well with
their fists. Strikers, maybe, but not bashers, lungers, or slashers. They can and
will use 'em if they have nothing else, but they won't do well. And frankly, I
wouldn't even send out an aimed blow, the CLASSIC unarmed style, with nothing but his
fists for backups. I've seen too many of them 'struck in the arm with the parry'.
It's too risky for a warrior who's already got problems. Unless, of course..." she
looked suddenly thoughtful, "I'm hoping he'll get killed...."
Diaretic raised his eyebrows. "Do you do that much?"
"Send them out hoping they'll die?" Jorja shrugged. "Well, yes and no. I run
everything, maybe send one warrior in a hundred to the Dark Arena--after he's fought
for a year or two. There are often warriors that I would LIKE to see die, even
though I hate the hassle of recruiting new ones. But I've never sent a warrior out
unarmed, unarmored, and with the basic 1-1-1 default strategy. At least, not
deliberately. There's a team I have in Murska that was running on maintenance once.
I wasn't paying attention, and no less than THREE new warriors started up there
without strategies--and survived! They had horrible records by the time one of the
other managers managed to get my attention, 0-19 I think it was, but they survived.
Tough men, and they eventually made it to graduation, once I gave them 'sharp pointy
things' to use on their opponents. But I don't do that deliberately." She paused
and signaled for one of the waiters to bring Diaretic a fresh drink.
"Where was I? Warriors getting jumped when they shouldn't be, right. As a last
resort, because I don't really care for tactics, I might give such a warrior
decisiveness in the first minute, also.
"But if none of this works, if he still gets jumped regularly, then I have to
think about taking a different approach. Maybe he'd be better off running slowly,
despite his style. So I put more armor on him, some kind of mail, usually, and I
slow down his first minute, maybe invert it: 4-6-x or 4-8-x or something. And then
in the second minute pop him up to eight or ten offensive effort, on the idea that
he'll catch the faster offensives when they're tired. Sometimes it works.
Especially with beginning warriors, winning can often be a game of endurance. He who
is still standing, wins."
Diaretic nodded and sipped his drink. Half-formed ideas of how he might use
these ideas on his own warriors revolved in his mind. "What about the opposite case,
a defensive warrior who can't last long enough to win as he should?"
"The total parry who collapses from exhaustion in the second minute?" Jorja
laughed. "I've had a few of those over the years. I call 'em 'the warriors of
exasperation'. It isn't easy running everything, you know--I end up with some
warriors that not even a mother could love, and with them, I tend to do really dumb
things, just for the heck of it. The aimed blow with a deftness of three or four,
for instance, or the total parry with no con.
"But for the, hmm, 'legitimate' cases of warriors running too fast, well, there
are signs as obvious as an offensive getting jumped. 'Fighting to conserve energy',
'straining to hold his weary arms at guard', stuff like that in the fight report is a
sure sign. You can take two approaches to that, lower the weight they're carrying so
as not to burn their energy that way--lighter armor, lighter weapons. Or slow 'em
down. Say I've got a ripper going 6-8-x and stumbling with exhaustion in the second
minute. I might slow this warrior down to 4-6 and see if that helps. Heck, I've
even done that with offensives. Back when I started slashers out going 10-10-x, I'd
get them stumbling with exhaustion and losing because of it in the second or even the
FIRST minute, and I'd slow 'em down. Activity level comes down first for an
offensive warrior--I think of that as the 'dodging and parrying' number. Offensive
effort comes down first for the defensives."
"Hmm." The younger manager frowned, making a series of linked rings on the
table top with the wet bottom of his glass. "What about warriors who flail wildly?"
"I've been told that this is due to lack of attack skills, and unless you're
going to train stats and burn those skills, nothing but time will cure it. But I've
found that sometimes--not always--lowering kill desire helps. Drop it to five, say,
if it's higher. Dropping the offensive effort a notch might help, too. I think of
'flailing wildly' as 'trying too hard'. You can never be sure, of course, because
managing gladiators is an art, not a science." She paused and half stood, looking
toward a center of commotion. "Do you want Wednesday to get falling down drunk on
the night before the fights?"
+<]H[>+-----+<]H[+ Question of the Week #8 +]H[>+-----+<]H[>+
Question, turn 417:
All -- Here's last cycle's question that didn't make it in (along with page two of my
personals). What are the top five weapons to be successful in Advanced? -- Hanibal
Q.O.W.
Answers, turn 418:
Q.O.W. Response -- The top weapons in AD, or even basic DM, are generally agreed upon
to be the SC, LO, BS, and BA. The scimitar is an all round great weapon. Seems
easier to crit with, and even against heavy armor, still dishes out a lot of damage.
Because it's a slashing weapon, it seems to pull a lot of critical damage on normal
hits. The longsword is the second best, though that could be contended, for its one
great ability, the knockdown! The broadsword is heavy, but it dishes out heavy
abuse, it doesn't break often, and it is pretty good at smashing through parries.
The battle axe is just plain cool, and it is very painful! After those four, it's
difficult to say which weapon is better. I like daggers, though shortswords are
strong, and the halberd is really fun if your warrior can throw crits with it. --
Adie
I must have missed the question this is answering, or it was part of an ongoing and
sometimes heated discussion on winning and killing and aiming locations in Aruak
City.
Q.O.W. Response -- Other than the obvious ability of aiming at the
chest/abdomen/head to gain death intent statement, I think that it's more difficult
to win when aiming at the body because there are more hit-points there. This is
especially the case against tough, armored warriors. Attacking the body with lunging
weapons can get knockdowns, but I think that it's even easier if you aim at the legs.
If you consider protect locations though, maybe the body is better to aim at because
maybe fewer people protect it.
The limbs, and head especially, have less hit points, so if struck, such a
warrior usually gives up sooner. Aiming at the head can get quick victories and
death intent statements, but results in more deaths, obviously. But I think a lot of
people routinely protect the head. Aiming at the arms allows the defeat of a warrior
when they lose their weapon, or use of their arm, and can't draw a back up. -- Adie
P.S. I only advocate aiming at the arms and legs in Aruak City. Elsewhere is a
different story.
Question for turn 418, to be answered next turn:
New Q.O.W. -- What have people seen in regards to arms that hang useless? Can
warriors regain the use of them eventually if the fight goes on? Can they punch or
parry with it, even though they can't draw a back-up? -- Adie
Adie's QoW -- Striking arms can cause an opponent to drop their weapon and
(temporarily) lose the use of the limb. Striking the legs can increase the chance of
a knockdown. Striking at head, chest, or abdomen can allow for a kill on the sands.
Chest and abdomen seem to be the locations best protected by armor. Head can have a
different level of armor protection than the rest of the warrior's body, which can
make things tactically interesting. From what I've seen, managers usually have their
warriors protect their vital hit locations by default, so to me it makes more sense
to aim at non-vitals. -- Generalissimo Puerco
Is Generalissimo Puerco psychic? Tune in next turn and find out!
Hanibal's QoW -- All of the one-handed swords make up the top tier of weapons, with
the axes and spears on the second tier (consider halberd in this group), and all the
bludgeoning weapons (and the greatsword) at the bottom. Quarterstaves, war hammers,
and mauls are liked by some, and as far as I'm concerned, they can have them.
Unfortunately the quarterstaff recently became tied (with longsword) among my LPs for
most popular favorite weapon. Also, interestingly, I only have one LP that favors
the scimitar, and it's a total parry! -- Generalissimo Puerco
Hanibal -- Top five weapons? Hm, scimitar, scimitar, scimitar.... Oh, you mean
DIFFERENT weapons? A lot depends on the style of the warrior in question and his or
her favorite. But scimitar is up there near the top of the list for many styles. --
Leeta
The question from turn 418:
New Q.O.W. -- What have people seen in regards to arms that hang useless? Can
warriors regain the use of them eventually if the fight goes on? Can they punch or
parry with it, even though they can't draw a back-up? -- Adie
Answers from turn 419 and 420:
Q.O.W. Answer: I have had all sorts of s#&amp;t (not sure what word this was
supposed to be) happen regarding arms falling uselessly at their side: some warriors
give up, some continue on, I've even had a warrior lose his use of an arm twice in
one fight (and he still won!!!). One thing is certain...the weapon in the useless
hand always drops in the sand. -- Dr. Strange
Refers to last turn's question--
QOW -- Weapons? We agree that SC seems tops with LO and BS highly desirable. The
Consortium clan has a great affinity for these also: BA, DA, QS, SH, WH and GA. Not
the normal "feelings," but... -- Kennelworth
QOW -- A useless arm is a statement and since it normally comes at the end, it
"seems" to mean something, but it is similar to a dropped weapon. -- Kennelworth
Answer Q.O.W. (arms) -- When arms are struck in combat, I too have seen a variety of
things occur. I've seen them get hit, forcing a weapon to be dropped, but then a
back up pulled immediately. I've seen them get hit, drop a weapon, and be too hotly
engaged to pull a new one. Also, they can hang useless after being struck. The
weirdest thing I've ever seen is a warrior lose the use of their arm, drop their
weapon, strike with their fists, and then have one of those fists get parried, AND IT
WOULD BE THE ONE THAT WAS USELESS THAT WAS INJURED BY THE PARRY! Strange eh? So if
both arms went useless, you could still fight with fists? Hmm... -- Adie
New question, turn 419:
All -- I recently tried an experiment where I gave a warrior a Primary weapon
(Broadsword) and the same off-hand back-up. She pulled the back-up when things
slowed down in min. 2. Does this mean she prefers two weapons or do they always do
that? If you give a warrior two back-ups will they pull the one they prefer or
whatever you list first? -- Hanibal -- Q.O.W.
Answers, turn 420:
Answer Q.O.W. (backups) -- When things slow down in a fight and neither warrior is
eager to hold the initiative, they will usually pull any off-hand or back up weapon
they have, whether they need it or not. It has no relation to whether that warrior
prefers to fight with two weapons or not.
Drawing back-ups also can occur when the fight is intense. If your weapon
breaks while on the offense, often such a warrior will draw their back up and attempt
a riposte to hold the init. Also, if you're on the defensive and you attempt to
riposte, but you have a back-up weapon or off-hand weapon to draw, your warrior may
try to pull it. Success is not always guaranteed in either case though since your
warrior may be 'to hotly engaged'. Even if a defending warrior succeeds, drawing a
weapon after a riposte forces that warrior to give up the init they could have taken.
But if they pull a back-up and THEN riposte, then can take the init.
If you give a warrior two back-ups, they pull the one listed first, and if it
breaks or is dropped, they'll pull the second. It is not random. -- Adie
QoW -- If the warrior has a free off-hand, and a backup off-hand weapon, it usually
isn't long before they decide to make use of it. I'm guessing that OE and
coordination (anonymous source) are factors that affect the likelihood of drawing a
backup in the off-hand. Wanna Be, manager of A Savage Few here in Aruak, once hosted
a fast draw contest where contestants had to start the fight unarmed but could have
backup weapons. The all-out offensives would sometimes spend a full minute or more
with their fists before deciding to draw steel. The defensives would usually draw
something the first chance their opponent would give them. -- Generalissimo Puerco
New question, turn 420:
All -- I was noticing the skill modifiers for low to high size; do these negatives
keep a warrior from being successful at the high end of the game? -- Hanibal --
Q.O.W.
We're now caught up with Aruak City (dm 11) on the Questions of the Week; they are
about to run turn 421 as i write this. So if Hanibal misses a turn in asking, or the
managers there miss a turn in answering, we'll have to miss a turn in looking over
their shoulders. Amazing how things follow one another like dominoes falling, isn't
it? There is NO REASON AT ALL why you here can't pose Questions of the Week of your
own. Send them as a personal to DM 11, identify yourself as a new manager seeking
enlightenment, and you should get a helpful response. -- Jorja
>)]H[(< + -----:----- + >)] The Free Cities #62 [(< + -----:----- + >)]H[(<
Zukal and vicinity:
It was harder to get Veleks into the boat than Ghenis had expected. Dead, it
might have been awkward, but alive...the little thief turned suddenly hysterical,
shrieking and weeping, trashing wildly, and begging not to be given to "the burning
eyes and flashing teeth." Ghenis finally had to knock Veleks out so that he and
Harlund drag him into the rowboat.
"He's nuts," Harlund growled, leaning into his oars as he drove the boat back
toward the shore. "Burning eyes and flashing teeth. Sounds like some kind of kid's
nightmare. He do some kind of drugs?"
"Veleks? No. He's got a few bad habits, but not drugs. He must have seen
something real...but maybe not really what he thinks he saw."
"He couldn't've seen something like that, not on the beach he couldn't. There
aren't any monsters in the woods around here." Harlund paused and looked around
uneasily, looked down into the water, which was filling with the shadows of sunset
faster than the sky was. "Might be different if he'd been in a boat to start with,"
the beach walker muttered. "He might've seen something over the water...."
"Veleks can't swim and had no boat. He was not on the water," Ghenis said
firmly. "Besides, I found what are probably his tracks. He was on the shore road
and left it to run toward the beach, and I do mean run--flat out. Something
terrified him. Veleks is no hero, but he wouldn't run without a reason."
Harlund opened his mouth to argue further, then looked at Ghenis and shut it
again. Smart move.
"Just get us to shore, man. Then I'll pay you, and you can go home. It isn't
your problem."
*** ***** *** ***** ***
Ghenis had the idea that it would have been harder, maybe impossible, to get rid
of Harlund at any time earlier in the day. But it was sunset, and the beach walker
seemed to have a strong aversion to being out on the shore at night. Which probably
meant that the gladiator would be wise to get himself and Veleks off the shore before
dark, too. Besides, he didn't want to meet his henchman's "burning eyes and flashing
teeth" with Veleks on his hands either unconscious or hysterical.
He draped the little thief over the saddle of his rented horse and glared at the
beast. It probably wasn't a bad horse, as horses went, but neither was it
outstanding in any way--it seemed unlikely, for instance, that it would take to
carrying double. Which meant he himself was going to have to walk. He toyed again
with the idea of buying a horse, a really GOOD horse. But, as at other times, he
also thought about how much it cost to keep a horse in the city, whether he was
riding it or not. His resources weren't infinite. And he didn't really leave the
city and NEED a horse that often, so it wouldn't be a savings, not really.
By the time Ghenis had reached this point, a familiar one, in his thoughts, it
was twilight and he was back on the coast road, leading the horse. He paused before
stepping out into the open. By the evidence of the tracks, Veleks had been on the
coast road in the dark when he met his monster. Maybe it would be better to get
under immediate cover instead of heading straight back to Zukal tonight. He'd passed
an abandoned farmstead--courtesy of the invasion, most likely--on his way to the
beach to meet Harlund. It wasn't any palace, but it would provide shelter and a
defensive position, and it was nearby, a mile, maybe a mile and a half away. He set
off in that direction, crossing the road and plunging into the brush along an
overgrown track.
The farmstead was as Ghenis remembered it, a stone house with half a roof, two
or three wooden sheds that had mostly collapsed, a cluster of unpruned fruit trees.
He led the horse right into what had been the main room of the house and dumped
Veleks onto the ground. By the dark powers, the little thief had better have
something useful to report after all this trouble! Veleks could sleep now, but by
morning he'd better be coherent.
*** ***** *** ***** ***
Ghenis sat over the fire he'd made from scraps of lumber and watched the full
moon ride across the sky. The night seemed long for the time of year, but that was
subjective, he knew. It was about midnight now, with the moonlight turning the
landscape into silver and soot. There had been owls hooting earlier, some other kind
of night birds, rustlings outside the farmhouse that had nothing to do with the wind,
but the night was silent now. He touched the amulet he wore under his shirt,
wondering if he would see Veleks' monster tonight. That would be...interesting.
A howl? There were wolves around the delta country, they'd come down out of the
hills after the invaders had devastated the area. A chorus of howls, must be a pack.
His horse was moving restlessly. It had a right to be uneasy, a pack of wolves was
no joke. Ghenis wished briefly that he had a crossbow, but he didn't. He drew his
sword and put more wood on the fire, checked to make sure that the remaining walls of
the old house would protect him from the sides and rear.
Another howl, closer, almost a hound-like baying. Other wolf voices answering.
Definitely a pack, hunting in the moonlight. He touched his amulet again. The dark
powers would not protect him if he stupidly put himself in the way of danger. Which
he had not done tonight, he had prudently gotten off the road and taken a defensible
shelter. With one hand on his amulet and the other on his sword, he waited.
Shadows moved in ways that wind and trees could not account for. They gathered
around the shell of the farmhouse; he glimpsed them through the empty doorway and the
gaps in the wall. The shadows blinked at him with eyes that were not burning but
cold as the moon overhead. Wolves. Big wolves, given how far off the ground those
pale eyes were. A lot of big wolves. But they weren't trying to get at him. More
kept arriving, causing an ongoing stir of shadows. He didn't try to count them.
Didn't really want to know how many wolves there were out there.
And then, suddenly, there was something else, with eyes of flame and a spear
tipped with icy moonlight. Human in shape, more or less, and mounted on something
that might be a horse but probably wasn't. It lifted a horn and blew, and the sound
was a wave of fear.
Veleks' monster.
* }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ * }%|[-----+O+-----]|%{ *
---===FREE BLADES REGIONAL NEWS===---
Duelmasters
-----------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 467): TREMERE of DARK TOADS (TigToad, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 465): WILD BILL of THE LAWMEN (?, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 461): DIRT KNAP of UNKNOWNS XX (Dark Spirit, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 461): POSITION IS EMPTY
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 459): KILLIN' STU of MINIONS OF MILO (Kleptov Grenufelbitz)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 458): POSITION IS EMPTY
DM 28 MORYA (turn 229): SHAWINIGAN SMURF of CANADIAN BACON (Firehawk, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 450): MR. YUCK of THE TAKEN (Stillgard, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 227): GRIFFIN of MYTH (Lightbringer, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 447): LIGHTNING of HARBINGERS (High Lord Bosk, mgr.)
DM 33 ANASAZI (turn 445): SLUGWORTH of WILLY WONKA INC. (Distorted, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 438): FINN of CHILDREN OF LLYR (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 401): SUNGOD DESIGNED ME of WENSINWASIN (Youngblood, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 204): BINGE N PURGE of EMETICS (Berylstar, mgr.)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 198): RING D'BELL of CARNIVAL (Carny, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 185): DR. NO-NOOKIE of MASTER BLASTERS (Tripwire, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 326): NESSUS of ACT OF MALICE (Carnage, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 306): VLADIMIR TALTOS of BLACK PEARL (Dr. Guts, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 134): PUNCH DRUNK of WAY TO GO! II (Spawn, mgr.)
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 351): STEVE DALLAS of BLOOM COUNTY from NIYTYOLE ISLAND
(Rillion, mgr.)
Top Teams
---------
DM 9 ZUKAL (turn 467): BLUE MOON (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 465): ARENA FELINES II (Garfield, mgr.)
DM 15 MALCORN (turn 461): UNKNOWNS XX (Dark Spirit, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 461): BLACKHEART'S AXE (?, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 459): SPECIAL ED (PTFT, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 458): CARNIVAL (Carny, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 229): IDIOTIC ICCERS (THawk, mgr.)
DM 29 LAPUR (turn 450): EQUESTORS (Spartacus, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 227): THE STORMGUARDS (The Icelord, mgr.)
DM 32 ARVAT (turn 447): THE STORMLORDS (The Icelord, mgr.)
DM 33 ANASAZI (turn 445): PATH OF THE BLADE (Vhagar, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 438): CHILDREN OF LLYR (Jorja, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 401): KORGAN CRUSADE (Jack Wolfspider, mgr.)
DM 45 STORMCROWE (turn 204): DARQUE FORCES (Master Darque, mgr.)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 198): SPOONERTIKS (Spawn, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 185): OPEN SESAME (Crip, mgr.)
DM 56 ROCANIS (turn 326): REDHORSE (Mila, mgr.)
DM 61 JURINE (turn 306): FAVORITE GUYS (Obscure Source, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 134): none
ADM 103 FREE BLADES (turn 351): MEOW MIX, etc. (Ultraist, mgr.)
Recent Graduates
-----------------
DM 12 RIZTAB (turn 465): WILD BILL of THE LAWMEN (?, mgr.)
(turn 464): TONY THE TIGER of ARENA FELINES II (Garfield, mgr.)
DM 16 WILLAF (turn 460): BUBU of GEN KHAN (Technogeek, mgr.)
HU MI of GEN KHAN (Technogeek, mgr.)
DM 17 ALJAFIR (turn 459): SEAR ICECAP of LO' DOWN (Cayl Reed, mgr.)
(turn 458): BONEY OLD BEHIND of KINDRED OF KAOS (PTFT, mgr.)
10-11-8-15-17-14-9ST of KINDRED OF KAOS (PTFT, mgr.)
DM 19 ZUWAYZA (turn 457): NUTT BRITTLE of CARNIVAL (Carny, mgr.)
DM 28 MORYA (turn 229): SHAWINIGAN SMURF of CANADIAN BACON (Firehawk, mgr.)
BILLY LILLY of DODGE BULLETS (Uncle Wolf, mgr.)
(turn 228): NIGHTSHADE of CRYPT KNIGHTS (?, mgr.)
DM 31 CHIMLEVTAL (turn 227): GRIFFIN of MYTH (Lightbringer, mgr.)
DM 33 ANASAZI (turn 445): DRY KEG of JOYS OF BOOZE (Berylstar, mgr.)
DM 35 MURSKA (turn 436): JELIAH BIGABO of PHILANTHROPISTS 3 (Aragorn, mgr.)
DM 43 VEASTIAN (turn 400): FLYING MARMOSET of KORGAN CRUSADE (Jack Wolfspider)
DM 47 NORTH FORK (turn 197): INSOLENT IDIOT of MYSTIC ORC FEAST (Slugbait, mgr.)
ESPRESSO of COFFEE RULES! (Mr. Coffee, mgr.)
DM 50 SNOWBOUND (turn 185): DR. NO-NOOKIE of MASTER BLASTERS (Tripwire, mgr.)
DM 73 ERINIKA (turn 133): KAMIKAZE of WAY TO GO! II (Spawn, mgr.)
DUELMASTER'S COLUMN
Notes from the arena champ.
Well, Noblish Island, the time for saying good-byes is almost here and I'm sure
that most of you won't miss me, even though none of you currently in this arena have
ever had the displeasure of stepping into the arena with me. As it is now, Katrina
The Red will take the throne when I leave unless someone can take her down a few
notches. And Katrina, if you can move up a rank then I will challenge you myself and
we will truly see what happens. It is not easy to beat me and I have seen what you
are capable of. So it should be a good fight. Let's show these guys what two girls
are really made of.
Wolverine, as my mind serves me you threatened Kamlund Mark for the throne when
he had it and well, you had the chance to challenge me for the same throne and you
chickened out. Are you trying to say that you are afraid of this sweet innocent
little girl? It's probably a good thing because I can see after the fight with
Little Mom that you are nowhere near the league that I am in. All talk and no
action.
Speaking of Little Horn, that was his third win. Oh the pleasures of winning.
Congrats to him. See, I can be nice. It just doesn't happen too often.
To all of those newer than me managers: challenge, challenge, challenge. It is
the best way to avoid those embarrassing matchups and learn the rock, scissors and
paper matchups. I haven't figured them all out yet but an example is Lungers usually
beat Aimed Blows and Aimed Blows usually beat Total Parry. And my experience shows
me that Slashers usually beat Parry Riposte and Lungers. Maybe Jorja can shine some
more light on the way this works. And definitely avoid. There is no shame in this.
It helps you move through the ranks because it sucks running up against a gladiator
lower in the rankings than you. As a rule of thumb for me, if a team has three or
more gladiators below my gladiator I avoid that team. My team has had a lot more
success since I started challenging and avoiding. Another bonus to challenging is
that your chance of fighting a standby is greatly reduced. You don't gain any
information on other gladiators if you are fighting standbys.
Read the personals carefully because it sometimes gives you clues to how other
characters are running. A lot of the fun of this game is in the personals. To write
them gives your gladiators and team a sense of character and emotion which adds fun
for everyone. Professor X, what happened? You have been quiet here lately. Maybe
the cat will let go of your tongue. C'mon let's work together and get Tycron Mercs
off of that Top Team spot. Everyone, let's send our best fighters against him and
see if we can cause him to go 0-5.
Team Riff Raff, my first turn looked exactly the same as your 2-3-1 and look at
my team now. But you won't have to put up with the pesky bloodfeud. Stick in there,
it can get better and if you realize your warriors are endangering that win/loss
record, get rid of him. Around turn five I DA'ed a lot of my characters and used
what I have learned to make this "new" team and am even happier now. So may we share
the blood that stains the sands in the heat of battle, but let yours be more than
ours.
Your Duelmaster,
Wednesday
SPY REPORT
I can't believe the violence in NOBLISH ISLAND! I still haven't told Mom I'm
writing Spyreports. She'd have a cow! Well, here we go... Cut this out and put it
in your scrapbooks, X-MEN! 'Cause they got 4-1-0 and moved up to 2nd! MVP award for
TOAD? X-MEN's proud of him after beating NEFAN MURH and getting 13 points. Talk
about yer major upsets! NEFAN MURH's match with TOAD cost him a loss of 8 points!
Our Duelmaster has lost, folks, lost to VENEMOUS CONCUBINE, BUT WEDNESDAY is still
the Duelmaster because she has the most recognition points! Who was the wiseguy that
said NOBLISH ISLAND's Duelmaster was paying for drinks at The Warty Toad? Don't look
at me!
Look, you guys stick to fighting, all right? THE DARK TIDES was NOBLISH
ISLAND's most avoided team. Is there some award for that? Hhmph! What kind of
warriors are X-MEN? THE DARK TIDES, an easy team to beat if I ever saw one, can't
get them to accept an invitation! Can THE DARK TIDES' FURIOUS IMP be more popular
than me? She was challenged the most, but is that really the same?
What does a fighter fight for? I mean, the crowds don't give a hoot if someone
gets killed. Not after four more fights. KATRINA THE RED bloodfeuded (is that a
word?) ZULOK THE SHADOW for revenge over some guy's bad fortune. Was it really worth
it? Hey you guys, don't you think your families would like to hear from you? Write!
(Or have someone write for you.)
Remember, blood on a purple robe may stain. Soak it in cold water, and hand
wash. I know how much you like reading this stuff, but I really should stop. I had
a fun time, see you later-- Debby Tonte
DUELMASTER W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
WEDNESDAY 7156 6 2 2 72 THE DARK TIDES (1234)
ADEPTS W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
LITTLE HORN 7526 4 0 0 49 THE DARK TIDES (1234)
KATRINA THE RED 7504 4 0 0 37 TYCRON'S MERCS (1298)
FURIOUS IMP 7536 3 0 0 34 THE DARK TIDES (1234)
CHALLENGER INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
WOLVERINE 7163 4 2 0 33 X-MEN (1236)
MORPH 7528 3 0 0 30 X-MEN (1236)
TOAD 7527 2 1 0 30 X-MEN (1236)
GAMBIT 7166 4 2 0 28 X-MEN (1236)
POO FLINGER 7529 2 1 0 27 NO HOPE (1303)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
STRIDEN 6650 4 3 1 22 DRUNKEN CLONES (1144)
LENA KORIL 7510 4 2 0 20 MIDDLE WAY 8 (1300)
BEAST 7165 3 3 0 20 X-MEN (1236)
INITIATES W L K POINTS TEAM NAME
THE WRETCHED 7535 2 1 0 19 THE DARK TIDES (1234)
TEALIN SALI 7514 3 3 0 17 MIDDLE WAY 8 (1300)
XARION 7108 3 2 1 16 DRUNKEN CLONES (1144)
POL OLVAN 7512 3 3 0 16 MIDDLE WAY 8 (1300)
GHENGIS KAHN 7534 1 2 0 14 THE DARK TIDES (1234)
NEFAN MURH 7511 3 3 0 12 MIDDLE WAY 8 (1300)
RENDOR QUIL 7513 3 3 0 12 MIDDLE WAY 8 (1300)
THE ROOKIE 7502 2 2 0 8 TYCRON'S MERCS (1298)
RAVAGER OF DOOM 7503 2 2 0 8 TYCRON'S MERCS (1298)
JINX 7546 1 1 1 8 RIFF RAFF (1305)
TRAILER TRASH 7557 1 0 0 7 RIFF RAFF (1305)
ZULOK THE SHADOW 7508 1 1 1 6 THE BLACK GUARD (1299)
WAIF 7556 1 0 0 6 RIFF RAFF (1305)
LEONIDAS 7507 1 0 0 6 THE BLACK GUARD (1299)
PORK CHOP 7542 1 1 0 4 RIFF RAFF (1305)
WARTS B. GONE 7533 0 3 0 3 NO HOPE (1303)
AMASTASIA 7506 0 2 0 2 THE BLACK GUARD (1299)
GUTTERSNIPE 7545 0 2 0 2 RIFF RAFF (1305)
METARO 7547 0 1 0 1 TYCRON'S MERCS (1298)
'-' denotes a warrior who did not fight this turn.
THE DEAD W L K TEAM NAME SLAIN BY TURN Revenge?
DELCIEVA 7153 2 3 0 THE DARK TIDES 1234 STRIDEN 6650 141 JUST REV
RED BABOONBUTT 7532 0 3 0 NO HOPE 1303 SPYMASTER 22 144 NONE
STICKY 7530 1 2 0 NO HOPE 1303 WURM KIN 27 144 NONE
PANSY BEDWETTER 7531 0 3 0 NO HOPE 1303 BLACK ORC 20 144 NONE
KESSEL 7501 2 2 0 TYCRON'S MERCS 1298 XARION 7108 144
MELOFARLASKI 7500 1 1 0 TYCRON'S MERCS 1298 ZULOK THE SHADOW 7508 142 JUST REV
PERSONAL ADS
Toad -- Ack! Warts! -- Rendor Quil
P.S. I didn't know golems could even GET warts. That shouldn't be possible. I'm
going to write a stiff note to the manufacturer, but in the mean time, stay away from
me!
Red Baboonbutt -- You should definitely "reconsider this gladiator stuff." You have
been cursed in your style. I have yet to encounter a manager who speaks well of that
style. But maybe you will be able to change their minds. In which case, or to do
which, live well and win. -- Tealin Sali
Gambit -- Okay, I know, you won. But I still think you should drop the off-hand
weapon. -- Lena Koril
P.S. If I hadn't burned out, that fight might have ended differently.
P.P.S. But then again....
Guttersnipe -- Cheese, bad weapon choice! I mean, as clumsy as I was out there, you
shoulda won. Not that I wanted you to, but just generally, I was lousy. -- Pol Olvan
P.S. How come you didn't learn any skills?
Sticky -- You're too tall. That's your main problem. You need to take shrinking
exercises. -- Nefan Murh
Diaretic -- The spirit is willing, but the time is chronically short. I don't know
if I'll get something in for this turn or not, but I'll try. I got your diplo, and
I'll try to address your question in the piece I may get written. -- Jorja
Comments on the articles--
Article for Newbies by Magic Man. I think he's inactive at the moment. That chart
is pretty, isn't it? So symmetrical and complete, so tidy. It's almost a shame to
mention its flaws.... But style vs. style, while a factor in who wins a given fight,
is not the only nor even the most important factor. Weapons and armor, relative
experience of warrior and manager, hit points and endurance, what they had for
breakfast, all can be important to winning and losing. My own personal opinion,
after many years at this game, is that manager skill is THE most vital factor. I
don't equate skill with length of time one has been playing, necessarily, but a good
manager can win almost anything more often than not.
Besides, I have heard that this chart was formed as a result of an opinion poll,
rather than from hard statistics on thousands of fights won and lost, as one might
imagine.
On Making Your Challenges Go Through, I have to say that my experience suggests that
a big factor in challenge failure is illegibility. Sometimes that number can't be
read, or can't be read accurately (on faxes, it may not all be there). The inputter
isn't going to try all the possible permutations to find out which one is the warrior
you want to challenge. And, of course, with no number, forget it. Inputters don't
look up numbers. Same for avoids--you have to have the team NUMBER down there, or
the avoid command won't get entered.
Winning with the Average Warrior, by the Master of Anime. This manager is inactive,
but his theory--that the average warrior can be just as much or more fun than the
warrior with spectacular numbers--is a sound one. Besides, my personal experience
and my observation of other managers is that if you get a warrior with extraordinary
stats, you worry about him dying. Nobody worries that much about the average
warrior, and it's easier to enjoy the experience when you aren't worrying.
Twelve Tips, by the Consortium. Alas, the Consortium is not active at this time.
But the tips are good tips.
Striden -- That was once heck of a change up that you did there. I honestly did not
expect that in the least little bit. -- Ghengis Kahn
P.S. Stupid exhaustion.
Katrina The Red -- I was wondering who was running that style. Now to find the other
three. -- Diaretic
Jorja -- Three more turns and I'm out of here. Riztab and Willaf kind of have my
interest. I'm not interested in the slow arenas because I don't want the slow
progression. Things already move too slowly for me anyway. After the DarkTides
leave, I am planning on starting second team here under the Shadow Tides. -- Diaretic
P.S. Thanks for all the help!
P.P.S. Are either of the two arenas I listed short on SCUMMY TYPES, AND are the
personals active?
I'm afraid that in this arena, you can only ever have one team. Jorja is the
exception because she's here to help people and give advice. In any other arena
you can have team after team after team (one at a time, except for DM 82, Dwes
Eg, which isn't any fun if you like personals). -- Ed.
P.S. I can't answer about the scum, but lately there have been more personals
in Willaf (DM 16) than in Riztab (DM 12). That doesn't always mean LOTS of
personals, but more than one person usually.
27 May 2003
A note to everyone regarding manager names and manager lists -- If you're running a
team incognito, all you have to do is let me know and I won't put your name on any
manager lists. It has seemed though, that more people want their names listed, even
if they do not announce themselves, than the other way around. Also, I do maintain
the list more or less by hand and errors do creep in. You have but to say I've made
an error and no one will be the wiser (except thee and me, of course). -- The Saint,
keeper of lists
30 May 2003
Duelmasters Friends and Friendly Foes -- I am returning to the United States for the
summer. Please direct any Snailmail to:
Devon Hagy
Open Skies Ministries
Att: Hammer
1515 E 7th St
Okmulgee, OK 74447
USA
Bro De is the founder and president of Open Skies Ministries [Prison Ministry] and a
newcomer to the world of Duelmasters. We minister together when I am in the area.
See you on the sands!
-- Daryl P Holloman aka Hammer
Flower Hammerz DM 28
Casino Hammerz DM 33
Fish Hammerz DM 54
3 June 2003
The Company of Brothers want to take this opportunity to formally introduce
ourselves to all players. Our play is NOT based on smack, rudeness, or anything less
than fair play (well...as fair as it gets!) and improving the knowledge base of the
game and the sharing of experimentation and information. We are not concerned with
personal politics, ideals, etc. We are players who enjoy the game.
Currently, our membership includes:
Asmo Dius, Baphomet, and Fahkry.
We wish to welcome our newest member...Suiside. May the gods smile upon you and
victory rest well on your team. Any who wish to join us may contact one of our
members for info.
4 June 2003
ANNOUNCING THE RETURN OF STORMCROWE SLAUGHTERHOUSE
The last Stormcrowe Slaughterhouse was one of the closest and most exciting
contests ever held in Alastari. Such an epic demands a sequel. Therefore, Master
Darque and Jack Wolfspider are pleased to announce the return of the Stormcrowe
Slaughterhouse.
Where? Stormcrowe DM 45 (slow). When? The Slaughterhouse returns on Turn 207,
due August 19. How can you get into the action? Bring a team (one per entrant
please) to arena 45 and announce your intention to join the contest in the Personals.
Rules: This time around the rules are very simple. Each warrior win against a
higher rated opponent (one or more points higher in the ratings) brings you 10
points, against even rated opponent 7 points, lower rated 5 points. Wins against
NPCs or by a warrior who downchallenges are worth 0 points. Points are doubled for
kills. All warriors in the arena whether participating in the Slaughterhouse or not
are fair game. Points are totaled weekly, and the contestant whose team has racked
up the most points at the end of 10 turns is declared Slaughterhouse Champion.
Prizes: To be announced; we're still talking with RSI about it. Figure it will
be something pretty good. But hey, who needs prizes when the honor of being
Slaughterhouse Champion awaits!
More info: Master Darque, MasterDarqueDM@aol.com, or Jack Wolfspider,
russtulp@aol.com. Or diplo Darque Forces (428) or Dynastic (433) in Arena 45.
LAST WEEK'S FIGHTS
RED BABOONBUTT was butchered by SPYMASTER in a 1 minute bloody Dark Arena fight.
STICKY was slaughtered by WURM KIN in a 1 minute Dark Arena battle.
PANSY BEDWETTER was easily killed by BLACK ORC in a 1 minute Dark Arena match.
KATRINA THE RED overpowered ZULOK THE SHADOW in a 1 minute mismatched Bloodfeud duel.
THE WRETCHED unbelievably bested STRIDEN in a slow 14 minute brutal Bloodfeud fight.
BEAST was viciously subdued by FURIOUS IMP in a 2 minute Challenge brawl.
GAMBIT bested TEALIN SALI in a 1 minute bloody Challenge match.
PORK CHOP was overcome by POL OLVAN in a 4 minute Challenge fight.
JINX was handily defeated by WOLVERINE in a 1 minute uneven Challenge melee.
GHENGIS KAHN lost to MORPH in a action packed 1 minute novice's Challenge duel.
WEDNESDAY was vanquished by VENEMOUS CONCUBINE in a 1 minute one-sided Title fight.
LITTLE HORN overpowered CAPTURED ORC in a 1 minute one-sided fight.
LENA KORIL demolished WARTS B. GONE in a 2 minute mismatched competition.
NEFAN MURH was devastated by TOAD in a 1 minute one-sided battle.
RENDOR QUIL was devastated by MORDANT DESERTER in a 1 minute mismatched bout.
AMASTASIA was viciously subdued by THE ROOKIE in a 7 minute gory beginner's fight.
RAVAGER OF DOOM was devastated by POO FLINGER in a 2 minute uneven duel.
KESSEL was savagely slain by XARION in a 1 minute bloody amateur's brawl.
GUTTERSNIPE was defeated by LEONIDAS in a 2 minute novice's bout.
METARO was beaten by WAIF in a 3 minute novice's bout.
TRAILER TRASH defeated CONVICTED THIEF in a unpopular 6 minute amateur's conflict.
BATTLE REPORT
MOST POPULAR RECORD DURING THE LAST 10 TURNS
|FIGHTING STYLE FIGHTS FIGHTING STYLE W - L - K PERCENT|
|LUNGING ATTACK 5 PARRY-LUNGE 6 - 3 - 1 67 |
|AIMED BLOW 4 LUNGING ATTACK 15 - 8 - 1 65 |
|STRIKING ATTACK 4 TOTAL PARRY 6 - 4 - 0 60 |
|PARRY-RIPOSTE 4 SLASHING ATTACK 11 - 8 - 2 58 |
|SLASHING ATTACK 4 AIMED BLOW 11 - 10 - 0 52 |
|WALL OF STEEL 4 WALL OF STEEL 15 - 14 - 1 52 |
|PARRY-LUNGE 3 PARRY-RIPOSTE 15 - 16 - 1 48 |
|PARRY-STRIKE 3 BASHING ATTACK 13 - 16 - 1 45 |
|TOTAL PARRY 2 PARRY-STRIKE 9 - 12 - 1 43 |
|BASHING ATTACK 2 STRIKING ATTACK 14 - 19 - 1 42 |
Turn 144 was great if you Not so great if you used The fighting styles of the
used the fighting styles: the fighting styles: top eleven warriors are:
TOTAL PARRY 2 - 0 PARRY-STRIKE 1 - 2 2 LUNGING ATTACK
PARRY-LUNGE 2 - 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE 1 - 3 2 AIMED BLOW
LUNGING ATTACK 3 - 2 SLASHING ATTACK 1 - 3 1 SLASHING ATTACK
AIMED BLOW 2 - 2 WALL OF STEEL 1 - 3 1 PARRY-RIPOSTE
STRIKING ATTACK 2 - 2 1 BASHING ATTACK
BASHING ATTACK 1 - 1 1 PARRY-LUNGE
1 STRIKING ATTACK
1 PARRY-STRIKE
1 WALL OF STEEL
TOP WARRIOR OF EACH STYLE
FIGHTING STYLE WARRIOR W L K PNTS TEAM NAME
SLASHING ATTACK WEDNESDAY 7156 6 2 2 72 THE DARK TIDES (1234)
LUNGING ATTACK LITTLE HORN 7526 4 0 0 49 THE DARK TIDES (1234)
AIMED BLOW KATRINA THE RED 7504 4 0 0 37 TYCRON'S MERCS (1298)
Note: Warriors have a winning record and are an Adept or Above.
The overall popularity leader is GAMBIT 7166. The most popular warrior this turn was
FURIOUS IMP 7536. The ten other most popular fighters were POL OLVAN 7512, MORPH
7528, GAMBIT 7166, LENA KORIL 7510, POO FLINGER 7529, WAIF 7556, KATRINA THE RED
7504, WOLVERINE 7163, GHENGIS KAHN 7534, and LITTLE HORN 7526.
The least popular fighter this week was THE WRETCHED 7535. The other ten least
popular fighters were TRAILER TRASH 7557, THE ROOKIE 7502, STRIDEN 6650, METARO 7547,
KESSEL 7501, AMASTASIA 7506, RENDOR QUIL 7513, NEFAN MURH 7511, WARTS B. GONE 7533,
and WEDNESDAY 7156.
NEW GRADUATES--FROM ALL ARENAS (INCLUDING CLOSED ARENAS)
For those of you who keep track of such things, 13 additional warriors graduated
from regular DM arenas (including closed arenas) since the last tournament:
STRYSON (12-1368) SHADOW LORDS
STEFEN (15-2052) WILD BOYS
FROG SLAYER (21-4021) THE GUARDIANS
VICTOR CALDERONE (60-5223) CLUB CULTURE
TYBALT (62-3696) GRAPHIC VIOLENCE
WESTON (65-5719) SUPERIOR FORCES 4I
FOGGY (72-4595) DARQUE FORCES
NORAF (82-3856) ENVENOMED
CHEOPS (82-4451) LEGENDS OF EGYPT
THE SCREAMING FANS (82-6495) WHY I PLAY DM
CRAB (82-11880) 4-LETTER STDS
BRAND (82-13289) TOADS OF AMBER III
SHERRI (82-15114) SUPERIOR FORCES 3201
-- Green Eyes
Top Ten Reasons Why Duelmasters is better than Sex
10. When you spend money on Duelmasters, you know you're going to get return on your
investment.
9. One arena won't get jealous when you start playing in another.
8. With the right tourney prize, you can design your own warrior.
7. If you make it to AD, they tell you your warrior's favorites.
6. You can always DA and get another roll-up.
5. The more experience you get, the less likely you are to die.
4. SZ, CN and Charisma are less important in Duelmasters.
3. Most mangers are satisfied with two minute fights.
2. Warriors do as they're told, even if it means using ALE and a WF.
And the number one reason..........
1. You don't have to hold your turn for an hour after you're finished reading it.
Composed by the Jester and Predator
Top 10 Things to Do to Have a Better FTF!
10. Have at least one meal that doesn't involve either McDonalds or Domino's Pizza.
Bonus points if that meal includes the use of utensils. (Double bonus points if you
already knew how to use utensils)
9. Recycle all those cover sheets and unwanted roll-ups into ammunition for the next
great paper ball fight! (And don't assume that because you don't have any ammo,
you're not in the game. When these things break out, ANYONE is a potential target!
Don't assume that I'm going to throw AROUND you to get to my target, if you're sitting
there in the middle of things trying to read your fights as the paper balls fly in all
direction, you're not only likely to get hit by a misfired projectile, but I will be
aiming for you!)
8. Showering at least once a day is not an option. REPEAT: Showering at least once
a day, is NOT AN OPTION!!!
7. Much like a watched pot never boils, asking if your overviews or reprints are
there yet every three minutes will only make the person sitting behind the desk
irritable (or even more so than usual). They'll be there when they get there.
6. Yes, the printer will break down, the hard drive will crash, and RSI will undergo
some sort of catastrophe. This is normal. Be prepared for long delays. Some people
like to play Magic while waiting, some of us prefer heavy drinking.
5. For you first timers, it is customary to do a triumphant little war dance each
and every time you win a fight, complete with whoop-whoops. That's what the raised
platform is for, so the rest of us can see you. If you don't do the dance, RSI will
take away your TVs and you will forever get 3 WT roll-ups. Would I lie to you?
4. Converse with your fellow managers. Take the time to chat, and introduce
yourself to at least one complete stranger. "Have you seen this warrior?" is not a
good way to introduce yourself. "Hi, my name is _______ and I run _______; nice to
meet you!" is a much better way to introduce yourself.
3. When the run off fights are being read, I want to hear a lot of noise! Cheer
every time a brilliant parry is made, shudder at the impact of a horrific blow, laugh
derisively when a warrior falls down. Cheer those who read a good fight, and heckle
those who can't. Get crazy. MAKE SOME NOISE GOLDURNIT!!!
2. Conversely, if you insist on reading your fights out loud and you don't have an
audience, go back to your room until the urge passes.
1. Buy your good ol' buddy Forge a beer!
As always, your own tips and comments are appreciated. *LOL!* Hope to see you all
there!
-- Forge
THE ULTIMATE AIMED BLOW
Oh no, not another aimed blow, you think, they always lose and have a tendency to
die if they meet the right person. But I can promise you that this fighter will give
you a lot of wins. Not a 20-0-? record, but a respectable one. Let's have a look at
the stats:
THE BEST: IF YOU CAN FIND IT: TOO BIG: TOO FAST: THE MUTANT:
ST: 9 ST: 9 ST: 9 ST: 9 ST: 7
CN: 15 +/- CN: 14 CN: 14 CN: 15 CN: 15
SZ: 3 - 5 SZ: 3 SZ: 6 - 9 SZ: 3 - 5 SZ: 3
WT: 19 +/- WT: 21 WT: 17 + WT: 19 WT: 13 - 15
WL: 18 +/- WL: 19 WL: 17 + WL: 18 WL: 13 - 15
SP: 3 - 5 SP: 3 SP: 3 - 6 SP: 4 - 9 SP: 15 +
DF: 15 +/- DF: 15 DF: 15 DF: 13 DF: 15 +
ST: So you can use some weapons.
CN: So you can stand some damage, and get at least good endurance.
SZ: The smaller the better.
WT: You need to be smart, and it helps a lot on stats and skills training.
WL: Helps you stand even more damage. It also helps a lot on stats and skills
training.
SP: The slower the better, but needs to be trained to avoid clumsiness. It doesn't
matter if this stat is low, you will hit when you want to hit.
DF: Gives you the response to other's actions, and gives you the initiative when you
need it.
The main weakness of this little fellow seems to be his speed, but this
disadvantage is made good by his small size. He will dodge nearly anything, and what
hits him doesn't matter because of his constitution. The strategy is all up to each
manager, but I prefer to run mine like this:
Weapons: Epee vs. Light Armor
Short Spear vs. Medium Armor
Shortsword vs. Heavy Armor
Shield: Medium Shield vs. Light and Heavy Armor
Armor: Depends on who I am challenging
Helm: Full helm
Strategy 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th+ Desp.
Offensive Effort 5 5 5 6 5 4 2
Activity Level 5 6 6 6 5 5 4
Kill Desire 4 4 5 6 6 4 2
Attack Location: Head or Chest
Defend Location: Body or Head
Offensive and Defensive tactics are something I seldom use.
Challenging is very important when running an aimed blow. Try to challenge big,
unarmored fighters. Train strength, speed, and deftness.
Well, that's all, for now. Try it and send me a diplo note if you have any
comments on my aimed blow.
Brought to you by Manimal, Manager of Cowards Guild, DM-31.
May victory by yours (or mine.)
'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE TOURNEY...
'Twas the night before Tourney, And all through the place
Many managers were drinking, Getting smashed at the Face;
The staff were all busy, The computers were humming,
Rollups were bought, for the deadline was coming;
Soon managers were nestled, all smug at their tables,
With visions of TC's coming from their stables;
And NAIMT doing massages, while A-Sop caused trouble,
An hour before deadline, the workload just doubled,
When by the computers, there arose such a clatter,
All eyes turned to them, to see what was the matter.
Sue glaring at the screen, Lee's fingers just flew,
Oh, the computer was down, so what else was new?
The lights in the room were too bright, someone said,
Nah, it's just the reflection from off Hoffa's head,
Then, what to our wondering eyes should appear,
But Soultaker and Sentinel, once again here this year,
Yes, we heard "No more Faces!", We hear this each time,
But we know it's a farce, like this parody's rhyme.
More rollups are bought, more warriors are made,
Names are thought up, and carefully weighed;
"How 'bout FREE WILLY? Or RODMAN? Or PUSSY? Or KNOCKERS?
Or SHEIK T'WEEZEL? Or BALLSY? Or TAKE OFF THEM DOCKERS!?
Not a chance say the censors! Nice try, bub, but no!
Now it's HAPPY, and BARNEY, and WE LOVE YOU SO!
The managers groan, but undaunted keep trying,
The censors all laugh, and just are not buying,
The RUGS altars are burning, offerings are gifted,
With hopes that the rollup curses soon will be lifted.
And then, in a twinkling, we hear down the hall,
A Lunat!k roar and Fusion chased with a maul.
You see, he'd heard about Fusion's campaign for the Prez,
Now it's "Off with his Head!", so Lunat!k says.
At the Dark Circle table, 6'7" down in height,
With their arrogant statures, their great show of might.
Yet amidst all the notebooks, are nerf toys and giraffe,
Such silliness there, NAIMT can't help but laugh.
At Aradi's table -- how they giggle, at the cartoons and stories
Of the FONZ done by Nuln, in his infinite glories!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a ring,
And Barb drew his beard as straggly as string;
The new guys at Duelmasters, some call them a rookie,
Making names for themselves like Jessie and Bookie;
The regulars are here, The Boss, PUG, and TUM
Carapace, Sensei, and lots more to come
Doc Steele and his legends, even now in the making,
If there weren't many witnesses, I'd think he was faking.
The paperball fight, and the chaos ensues,
Clean it up, says Lee, or your heads you will lose!
The independents and alliances, speaking more than a word,
NAIMT's resounding giggles can also be heard;
But the hour before deadline is soon at a close,
And giving a nod, on a chair Sandy rose;
Okay guys, she says, no more inputs to be made,
And away goes some managers for a Bourbon Street raid.
But ere I end this bad poem, I just want to say,
"GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL, AND TO ALL A GOOD DAY!"
****Hey, what do you expect for a quickie?... <grin>
Aimed Blows My Way
Okay, so it's a pretentious title. No more so than anyone else's, what with all
these "the perfect" this and "the perfect" that; what I'm going to show you here is
several different ways to make aimed blows and win with them.
There is no one specific way to make an aimed blow. You'll hear a lot of
managers claim that they "HAVE" to have a 21 DF in order to be any good at all. Well,
that's a trifle exaggerated. It's NICE to have a 21 DF. This will increase your
attack rating, and give you a certain boost. But it isn't necessary for a good,
solid, long-term aimed blow.
I'm going to give several examples of aimed blows, both how-tos and how-not-tos.
All the aimed blows represented here actually fight on one of my stables, so I did
this all by hit-and-miss. Unlike some managers, I don't believe that the first,
third, and fifth rules of aimed blows is "they die." It's only the third rule. <grin>
Now then. Design:
ST: Any, really. You can go low, since aims can handle daggers and open hand
just fine.
CN: Again, any. A little more can help them take a hit, but if they're lucky,
they'll do all right even if they can't.
SZ: Any. This is a versatile style. Big ones do great. Little ones do great.
WT: I'm going to surprise you, here. Anything. Yep, anything. Best is 11-21,
of course.
WL: Again. Any. Honest! An aim can do without will and can also use it to its
best advantage. But from here on is where you've got to pay attention.
SP: LOW. Keep it below 9 if possible. Below 7 is better.
DF: HIGH. 21 is always best, but 17 works okay, too.
So now you have a rollup with a low speed and a high deftness and it doesn't look
like much else. You've got a good aimed blow. Yes!
Examples of "do" design aims:
1) 7-5-12-21-11-7-21
2) 11-16-6-21-9-4-17
3) 10-15-6-17-9-6-21
4) 13-9-5-17-17-6-17
5) 11-5-10-11-21-5-21
6) 8-10-9-17-15-4-21
7) 5-10-7-17-17-11-17
8) 12-12-7-21-9-6-17
9) 7-11-8-11-21-5-21
10) 9-14-8-15-17-4-17
Ten is a good, round number. 1-4 are Immortal. All have winning records. Most
of them beat lungers in one minute. The low-con ones have the most trouble, because
they can't take a hit--if they get hit, they go down. Fortunately, that's only killed
a few of mine (the dead ones I won't list just now, since it's so depressing).
Examples of "don't" design aims, unless you're as insane as me or much more
experienced in your aimed blow running:
1) 17-5-5-11-17-9-21 (beat the DA three times before he was killed--he gets a
special place at #1)
2) 13-8-12-11-11-18-11
3) 11-12-6-21-13-8-13
4) 11-12-12-17-11-4-17
5) 12-7-18-13-13-5-16 (my first)
6) 11-14-7-9-17-9-17
7) 9-11-9-17-11-10-17
There's certainly more "don'ts" than dos, but those are ones I actually have
played somewhere; 2-5 are immortal, with usually 50% records except for the 11 DF (who
is in permanent retirement). He came along early in my aimed blow career, when I was
making EVERY rollup into an aimed blow to see for myself what worked and what didn't.
That didn't. Some of the mortal ones I'm still running, and they do well enough, but
as I said, until you get a little experience there are some things you may not want to
try unless, like me, you want to see what happens for yourself. <grin>
Now for strategy. This is probably the most important thing you'll give your
aim.
Weapons: Scimitar, unless they don't have the strength for it, in which case, dual
daggers. Longsword is next, then fists, then quarterstaff. You need an 11 ST for
longsword, so that's probably not always realistic. If your aim likes to fight with
his fists, you can let him, but I'd advise waiting until he's got some experience, and
you know your opponent isn't much on armor and parrying, because you can do yourself
some serious damage on the parries. Quarterstaff is a two-handed weapon, so bear that
in mind if you use it.
Armor: Keep it light, no more than ARM/H, and then only if you're worried about your
opponent. An aimed blow is a fast, offensive warrior--don't load him down.
Strategy:
10 8 8 6 6 6 10
10 2 2 1 1 1 10
1 --------------------------------------------------------- >
LL --------------------------------------------------------- >
HE --------------------------------------------------------- >
D
That's a good, all-purpose, general strategy. Some aims will want to play around with
it, and you let them--see what they like. But, and this is VERY important: keep that
KD low! An aimed blow relies on his control and his accuracy, and higher KDs will
cause them to lose a lot of that. If you're bloodthirsty, change the attack location
to the head. I recommend the legs for knockdowns. Either way, your aim will attack
THAT LOCATION, over and over again, until he has defeated his opponent, and very
decisively, from total parries (the classic aimed blow opponent) to lungers (the
classic aimed blow enemy). Remember: the aimed blow is an OFFENSIVE style. He has
some finesse, but he is a brutal and efficient warrior. Keep him in control; he'll
win. You can also play with desperation, but for me just dropping the first minute
tactic often works just fine. As for the use of decise, as always, it's up to the
manager, but decise will help keep your aim from "standing around looking for an
opening" in the first minute. Get him moving.
As always, experiment, find what works for you, and have fun.
Raf
Lord Protector
Ivory League
Manager of Tex's Rangers (51, 100, 101), Assassins (40, 105), Impressionists (27,
105), The Damned (30, 105, 101, 102), etc.
The Mechanics of Death
By Sir Jessie Jest
Greetings, joy and happiness to everyone! This article discusses the mechanics
involved when a warrior dies in combat. It will give the reader a better knowledge of
how a warrior actually gets killed in combat.
Here is how a warrior dies... The Facts) ...in fact, get out a dead warrior's
last fight so you can follow me. To start the process of death, a warrior must first
fail to make a death roll. Let's say the death roll is 20 or less out of 100 to fail
that roll for this example.
There are 2 ways a warrior can be forced to make that Death Roll.
1. The vitals roll.
2. The second is when you run out of hit points, which is called the "infirmary roll."
The vitals roll -- every time a warrior gets hit in a vital area you make a
vitals roll. Lets say that you fail on a 1-15% out of 100. If you get hit in the
head, chest, or abdomen, you will roll the vitals percent. If you roll 15 or less you
must make the death roll to determine if the warrior was killed. Now look at the
fight with your dead warrior on it...look for the death intent statement, it will say
something like, "Trying to make this into a death match, or seeks death of his
opponent, etc. etc." (there are a lot of them) that is telling you that your warrior
was forced to make a death roll.
Now comes the scary part: if you fail the death roll your warrior dies. But the
program does not kill you immediately because you still have hit points left. So what
happens next is that you will get normal attacks and damages that hit your character
automatically in the vitals until yours hit points run out. Then it will say your
warrior is dead. Remember that it will be normal hits to the vitals, not crits or
extra damage remarks. If your warrior dodges, crit attacks , parries, has extra
damage remarks or anything else EXCEPT a normal hit to the vitals, the sentence
following right after the death intent statement comes up, then he made his death roll
successfully and the fight continues. You can have many death intent statements come
up in one fight, depending on the number of times you hit a vital. You won't get one
every time, only when you fail the vitals roll. And your warrior will have to roll
the death roll every time you fail the vitals roll to see if he is killed or not.
EXAMPLE:
INFERNO leaps to his left!
INFERNO's scimitar lunges with awesome cutting power!
NULN takes an upper body hit!
NULN is badly hurt!
NULN is becoming FRANTIC!!!!
INFERNO's scimitar lunges with awesome cutting power!
NULN is struck on the left rib cage!
What a devastating attack!!
NULN is dangerously stunned!
INFERNO is trying to make this a death match----(Death Intent)
INFERNO slashes an attack with his scimitar---(Normal Attack)
NULN is struck on the side of the HEAD!---(Vital Hit)
INFERNO slashes with his scimitar
NULN is wounded in the upper chest.
INFERNO slashes with his scimitar
NULN is hit in the forehead!
NULN curses the gods in frustration!
NULN falls LIFELESS to the ground!
INFERNO has won the duel!
INFERNO laughs and says, "What a loser!"
As you see, if you fail the vitals roll, and then fail the death roll, you will
get normal attacks to the vital areas until all of your warrior's hit points are gone.
All of your dead warriors that have died from DEATH INTENT statements will have those
three things... death intent statement, then normal attack, then hits to the vitals
until all hit points are gone. Then you will get some sort of, "falls over dead
statement." In the past, if you failed the death intent statement roll, the program
would just skip all the stuff that was in between the death intent statement and the
falls over dead statement. It would say something like this:
INFERNO seeks the death of his opponent
NULN falls to the ground lifeless
INFERNO has won the duel.
But they changed it to make death more dramatic.
The second way your warrior is forced to make a death roll is if your warrior
runs out of hit points during or after the fight has ended. This roll is called the
infirmary roll and can happen in or out of combat, and does not matter where your
warrior gets hit. If your warrior has taken many hits, that reduces his hit point
total below the preset percentage... lets say it 5% of your total hit points... then
he will make an infirmary roll. If you fail the infirmary roll, you then make the
death roll to determine if your warrior has died. In combat, you will read that you
died from serious wounds or something to that effect. After a fight is over, the
program checks to see if your warrior has fallen below that preset percentage of hit
points, if you have, you will make an infirmary roll. If you fail the infirmary roll,
an infirmary statement will appear at the bottom of your fight letting you know if
your warrior failed the death roll that comes after that. Sometimes you can die in
combat without a death intent statement that comes up during the battle . This is a
good example of an infirmary roll failure in combat from low hit points, triggering
the death roll which actually is the roll that kills your warrior. In some battles
you can get hit several times in the vitals, have several death intent statements come
up, make every roll successfully and still die from lack of hit points (i.e.: fail the
infirmary roll).
A simple way to think of this is the 2 ways are : 1. vitals roll, which deals
with getting hit in the head, chest, or abs and dying when a death intent statement
comes up. Or # 2. infirmary roll, which deals with dying from lack of hit points,
and does not use the death intent statement. I'd say about 90% of all deaths are by
death intent statement because of a failed vitals roll. Only a small percentage die
from the infirmary roll in or out of combat.
Well, that's it. These are facts, not theories. You can check this out with all
your dead warriors, and you will learn there are NO exceptions. Those percentages I
used up there are just made up, I have no way of knowing what they really are.
Now I have formed theory regarding KD or kill desire. I do not believe KD has
anything to do with a warrior dying, but is rather a tool to determine your warrior's
aggressiveness in combat. In other words the timing of his blows, his shot
selection, and other such things. For example: The higher the KD the wilder he is
with his shots, and easier to feint, dodge, parry and riposte. Some styles like Abs
(Aimed Blows) fight better with a 1 KD because they are very selective with their
shots. Most of the other offensive styles function well between 5-7 KD. Any more
than that is just a waste of endurance and has a negative effect on your warrior's
performance in battle, in my opinion.
Well that's it for now. If you would like to chat sometime drop me a diplo at
Jessie's Kids in DM 60 (yes, I've come out of retirement) ;) May the axe fall in your
favor!
Cheerio!
Sir Jessie Jest,
Lord of Puns, and Master of Laughter.
Troll-Bred Bashers
The Bashing attack is not, as many of you may have noticed, one of the dominant
styles in Duelmasters. There are two reasons for this; one of which I will cover
here, the other I will cover in an accompanying article. I will preface this article
on Bashing attack design and strategy by saying that I have been playing Duelmasters
for two years, and I have spent most of this time experimenting with and perfecting
the Bashing Attack. In my opinion, a Basher needs to possess a monumentally high
attack percentage, with decisiveness and initiative not far behind. What follows is
designed to achieve the desired results.
Let's get right down to business. First, the stats:
PERFECT
ST: 13-17 15
CN: 3-5 3
SZ: 6-9 6
WT: 17-21 21
WL: 17-21 21
SP: 5-9 5
DF: 11-15 13
Here's why:
Strength is arguably the most important attribute for a basher. A basher with a
high strength can virtually be assured of a reasonably high attack. however, excess
strength takes away points from other vital areas and, as you will see, this Basher
will not want for attack. A 13 strength gives the Basher most of the good Bashing
weapons.
Constitution is absolutely unimportant to any offensive styles warrior. Bashers,
and for that matter, offensives in general, should be designed to dish out damage, not
absorb it. If you are designing a Basher to absorb damage, then you are designing him
wrong.
Size is an attribute that this game system does not handle well. As we all know,
too large a size means that you do not have enough points to allocate to the other
attributes. You would think logically that a Basher would need a large size. I am
not talking about logic. I am talking about winning within the parameters of this
game system. I give a minimum size of 6 since this is the smallest size that can
achieve "great damage with a blow."
Wit, in my opinion, is the most important attribute for every style. This is
strictly my opinion and you do not have to agree with me. Where Bashers are concerned
however, a Basher without very high wit is garbage. High wit will greatly effect a
Basher's initial attack, decisiveness, and initiative. My research has led me to the
conclusion that a Basher's initiative is primarily a function of wit. high wit also
ensures that the Basher will train consistently. Also, a Basher with a high wit can
expect an initial initiative rating somewhere in the 50-60% range. Note that speed is
also a modifier for initiative.
Will is another attribute that the Basher cannot do without. Will affects a
Basher's attack and decisiveness, and is responsible for, in conjunction with
strength, giving the Basher normal endurance, despite the pitifully low constitution.
Speed has almost no affect on a basher. I have seen many high speed Bashers, and
I can tell with 100% certainty that Bashers do not derive strong benefit from speed.
Slasher, strikers, and to a lesser extent, Lungers, all derive noticeable benefit from
speed. I am not saying that a 5 speed Basher will be equally as fast (initially) as a
19 speed Basher, but I am saying that a Basher can derive greater benefit by placing
points in other areas. This Basher will drive his decisiveness from the high wit/will
combinations: 21-21-5; 19-19-7; 17-17-9. These combinations, or something similar,
will generate an initial decisiveness rating of about 50%.
Deftness is very important to a Basher. The strength/wit/will/deftness
combination is where this Basher will generate the awesome attack percentage and his
attacking precision. A Basher with the aforementioned minimums in
strength/wit/will/deftness can expect to achieve an initial attack rating between 60-
80%. A 13 deftness will also allow the use of my favorite weapon, the morning star.
In the hands of a Basher, this is a devastating weapon.
Now that you know how to design a Basher, here's how they should be run.
This strategy should be used vs. offensive styled warriors:
1 2 3 4 5 6 Desp
10 10 10 10 10 10 10
10 3 3 3 3 3 10
7 7 7 7 7 7 7
HE HE HE HE HE HE HE
HE HE HE HE HE HE HE
D B D
The offensive effort is self-explanatory. If you are not trying to destroy your
opponent, then you should not be running a Basher. The activity level requires some
explanation. Bashers, as you might expect, perform better with a low activity level.
This is because the Bashing attack style is a series of overhand, overpowering blows
which are designed to deliver maximum hitting power. Running around like a
decapitated chicken would appear to be counterproductive. Here is the key. The 10
activity level in minute one is designed to help you get the jump on another offensive
warrior. If you do get the jump, you will win. Even if you are hurting the Basher's
attack percentage, how many offensive warriors do you know of that will be able to
parry or dodge this Basher's attack? NONE. Therefore, the 10 activity level in
minute one is justified. The decisiveness tactic in minute one is also there to help
you get the first shot off. Assuming you get the jump in minute one and the fight
somehow manages to make it into minute two, that's where the bash tactic comes in.
You enter minute two with the initiative, land a bash modified head shot into the poor
slob in front of you, and down he goes!!! Minutes 3-6 are basically superfluous as
not many fights will go that far. 10-3-7 allows the basher to do what he does best.
The theory behind the desperation configuration is the same as that for minute one.
Since the bashing attack is a downward motion, attacking the head is logical to say
the least. Modify this to the chest if you suspect that you adversary is protecting
his head. Defending your head is simply there to ensure that you hold your hands up
high. My reasoning is that I am simply trying not to interfere with the Basher's
attack, as opposed to seriously trying to defend myself. Against defensive warriors,
change minute one to 10-3-7 with no tactics: i.e., let the basher do what he does
best. I have only lost one fight to a defensive styled warrior with my best basher,
and that was MY fault. Minute two can be left the same, or you can drop the bash
tactic. I am tempted to leave the desperation minute the same. If you are desperate,
it probably means you were just hit. This design cannot take getting hit. You need
to go berserk in order to regain the initiative.
A high quality Basher should have no trouble with Parry-XYZ's and TPs. Against
scum try 7-1-7 with the bash tactic. You should have no trouble blasting attacks
through the feeble parries of a scum warrior, and the relatively slow (for a basher)
tempo will allow you to keep it up for 3-4 minutes, which WILL be more than enough
time to demolish even the most stubborn APA, F, ME, ME 1-1-1-P Total Parry. Let me
also mention that the bash tactic should never be used against PRs.
Last, but by no means least, is what to wear. Armor should be APL, ALE, or none
at all. DO NOT strap this basher into a suit of plate armor. The Bashing Attack,
despite what some other managers say (even those self-proclaimed "highly experienced"
manager who relentlessly brag about their 600+ winning percentages who only run
defensives, SCUM, and lungers) is a quick style. The armor should be correspondingly
light to allow the basher to get the jump on his opponent. The same theory applies to
weapon selection. Try using the QS, MS, of the WH. The GA and MA should only be used
against slower offensives of defensive styled warriors. Again, the key here is
quickness. THIS basher is designed to win his fights, with his tremendous attack
percentage, not with his tremendous damage bonus.
This article has been brought to you by.....
Mark Schwartz
280 Middlesex Road aka Troll King
Matawan, NJ 07747 mgr. Troll Lords
201-583-5150 Arena #36 Jhans
HOW TO BUILD A BETTER WARRIOR (version Y2k)
I'm sure that by now everyone has had enough of those "perfect" warrior advice
articles. And, while they are useful to a point, it's hard to apply their advice to
the hordes of non-perfect warriors we get every day. Hence, this article is for the
other 99% non-perfect warriors. The design ideas presented here have been valid over
the course of my 15 years of experience with this game, with proven success at all
levels of the game.
There are several things to think about when designing a warrior. First is
fighting style. Second is longevity. Third is weapon suitability. Fourth is
physical capabilities. Fifth is trainability. While I will discuss these separately
in this article, they must be thought about simultaneously in order to get the maximum
potential from each and every roll-up.
Fighting style is the most important decision you'll make about your new warrior.
Consider all possibilities. Sometimes you will need to experiment with the numbers,
play around with several different combinations, before picking the best style. The
offensive styles are lunging, slashing, striking, aimed blow, and bashing. The
defensive styles are total parry, parry riposte, and parry strike. The mixed styles
are wall of steel and parry-lunge. The offensive warriors have lots of attack ability
and little defense (except lungers). Their key attributes are usually will (for
endurance and attack skills) and strength (for damage capability and attack skills).
High wit and deftness are also high on the list as they both give a lot of skills,
particularly attack skills. [Tip #1: Never design an aimed blow with less than a 21
deftness.] The defensives have lots of defensive ability (particularly parry) but
poor attack. Their key attributes are usually will (for damage taking and parry
skills) and constitution (for damage taking). Again, extra wit and deftness is highly
desirable for the extra skills. [Tip #2: Keep wit as low as possible on scum
warriors.] The mixed styles have pretty good attack and pretty good defense, making
them among the most formidable warriors in the game. Their key attributes are will
(what a surprise!) and whatever gets them to good cut-offs, because mixed styles use
defensive and offensive skills with equal effectiveness. If you notice, speed doesn't
come up as an important stat for any style, but it is probably best utilized by the
offensive styles. I tend to like warriors that will perform well (as opposed to
looking good but still losing), so I tend to design a lot of offensive and mixed
styles.
Longevity is another design concern. The main decision here is whether your new
warrior will have a long, Gateway oriented career, or have a shorter life span. If
shorter, how much shorter? In general, for maximum learning and maximum training,
you'll want to add as much as possible to wit and will. If you envision Gateway god-
hood in your warrior's future, then designing him with a low wit or will has only a
minor effect; it merely takes a little longer for him to reach his full potential. If
your warrior has a sandbagging champions future, then you'll want to add as much wit
as possible to get him competitive as soon as possible. For an ADM title shot, you'll
want to build in some easy stat trains that give lots of skills. For a short, rookies
or novices oriented career, you'll probably want a high will because you'll most
likely be looking for quick, significant stat trains. The point is, decide when the
warrior is born how long his career will be, and you will be better able to maximize
his potential towards that ultimate target.
Weapon suitability must also be considered. As is well known, not all weapons
are well-suited to all styles, and every warrior has a favorite weapon. It is
important to design a warrior so he will be able to use the significant weapons well-
suited to his style. It should not take more than a couple stat trains to get your
warrior well-suited to some good weapons. (Consult available charts for weapon
suitability.) I feel that it is important to be well suited to several weapons of
your style. This gives you the opportunity to change and surprise your foes. If your
warrior lacks the attributes to use key weapons of his style, his effectiveness will
be diminished.
Physical capabilities is an often overlooked aspect of warrior design. The three
main areas of concern are endurance, the ability to inflict damage, and the ability to
take damage. At least one of these should be at the "good" level or above, and the
more the better. There is usually a trade-off between designing for skills and
designing for physical attributes. The trick is to maximize both. Always evaluate
the possibility of adding to strength over deftness. The damage capability gained
will usually out-weigh the difference in skills. Endurance is usually a key factor in
an offensive warrior's ability to defeat a defensive. Conversely, the ability to take
damage is usually a key factor in a defensive warrior's ability to defeat an
offensive. Again, use the available charts to design your warrior to reach the
desired physical levels with a minimum of stat trains.
The fastest way for a new warrior to improve is to learn skills with a 21 wit.
With a 21 wit, you can usually average three skills per fight for your first 20 fights
or so. Going into an adepts tournament with 60+ skills is very good. The higher the
wit, the more skills your warrior will learn, so keep this in mind when designing your
potential tournament champions.
A number of managers advocate early stat trains that burn skills. I only do this
in the most severe of cases, like a 3 wit scummy warrior. The main reason I don't do
this is because any warrior I want to fight beyond novices is going to need as many
skills as he can get. In addition, if a warrior burns skills early, he'll end up with
less than his contemporaries at the time they both max skills. This leads to
diminished skill levels when the warrior makes a TC run in the Freshmen, ADM, or
Eligibles class, and to a protracted struggle to get the warrior inducted to
Primus/Gateway when the time comes. It also eliminates the option to sandbag in the
champions since your burned warrior will never have the skills to compete with non-
burned warriors.
However, I do design for trainability. I like my warriors to have a shot at a TC
in the ADM or Eligibles class, so I will purposely leave deftness at 9, counting on
the quick, easy trains once all my skills are learned. You can do the same in wit,
will, speed, and even strength; leave the starting stat a couple points below a level
with significant skills, then train those stats when you make your TC run. Of course,
since you're planning on making this training run in Advanced Duelmasters, the best
stat for trainability is a 21. Every train past 21 will give you quick, significant,
valuable skills.
Of course, any set of design rules or guidelines will have its exceptions. There
are many good warriors out there who did not follow any of the rules outlined above,
but there are many, many more dead ones. So, if you follow these rules most of the
time, most of your warriors will be winners.
That said, let's do a couple examples. First, we'll redesign the legendary Broke
Stroker.
ST 10 + 0 = 10
CN 10 + 0 = 10
SZ 10
WT 9 + 6 = 15
WL 9 + 6 = 15
SP 11 + 0 = 11
DF 11 + 2 = 13
Style: Lunger
Comments: His wit and will are high enough to make him a viable long-term warrior.
He starts well-suited to the short spear, and is only one strength train away from
longsword suitability. He's got enough con to take a hit, and he'll likely also get
good damage with his first strength train, if not on the original overview.
ST 5 + 4 = 9
CN 8 + 0 = 8
SZ 14
WT 8 + 5 = 13
WL 13 + 4 = 17
SP 10 + 0 = 10
DF 12 + 1 = 13
Style: Slasher
Comments: He starts well-suited to scimitar, and has enough ST, CN, & WL to get
normal endurance. He has a good shot at good damage to start with, and if not, it's
only a train or two away.
ST 12 + 5 = 17
CN 8 + 1 = 9
SZ 7
WT 11 + 6 = 17
WL 8 + 1 = 9
SP 14 + 0 = 14
DF 10 + 1 = 11
Style: Striker
Comments: This low will wonder needs help to get normal endurance, thus the high
strength. It gives the additional bonus of guaranteeing good damage on a relatively
small warrior. The 11 deftness gives him suitability to almost every weapon.
Now it's time for you to go forth and design your own godlings (or is that
"doglings"?). Armed with these guidelines, you too can have your share of Broke
Strokers in Advanced Duelmasters. Good luck, and may the gods guide your blows
straight and true!
-- Neon Necromancer
(DM 1: Care Less Bears; DM 18: Mad Scientists;
other random teams and 100ish ADM warriors)